1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the tuning and operation of archery bows, and more specifically to determining the correct position of the arrow rest and the correct placement of the nock set on the bow string, so as to assure the accurate alignment of the arrow shaft when attached to the bow string, as well as determining deviation from proper form in reference to the proper placement of the nock set and arrow rest.
2. Prior Art
Some inventions, patented and unpatented, have been directed to the art of setting the nock set and the center shot of the bow. Generally a nock set is provided on the bow string for locating the receiving arrow nock portion of an arrow shaft. In this manner, an arrow can be consistently released from the same relative point along the bow string once properly aligned. The center shot of a bow refers to having the arrow placed on the arrow rest straight in line with the bow string where the nock set is placed. An arrow which is not positioned properly on a bow will have erratic flight when shot from the bow, as it is not being propelled straight by the bow string. If center shot is not set properly with the arrow rest and the arrow is not centered horizontally, the bow string will transfer energy to one side or the other of the arrow shaft causing it to move from side to side as it flies. If the nock set is not positioned properly on the bow string and the arrow is not centered vertically, the bow string will transfer energy to the top or bottom of the arrow shaft causing it to move up and down as it flies. Movement of this kind in the flight of an arrow shaft is certain to produce inaccuracy. An arrow which is precisely aligned on a bow will produce optimum accuracy and performance; if the nock set and the arrow rest have positioned the arrow shaft as to allow the energy stored in the limbs of the bow, when fully drawn, to be transferred down the core of the full length of the arrow shaft.
There have been various attempts to produce a device which can determine the proper position of the nock set or the arrow rest. As to the difficulty in setting the nock set, previous inventions have been a ruler type device to crudely measure where the nock set should be placed on the bow string, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,339 issued May 10, 1983, to Saunders, which is titled BOW SQUARE, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,786 issued Jun. 17, 1986, to Rezmer, which is also entitled BOW SQUARE. As to determining the center shot of the bow, there are previous inventions which have referenced from a surface on the bow itself, which bases the accuracy of the performance of the device on the assumption that the surface being referenced allows the device to operate on a plane which is perfectly parallel to the bow string. A good example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,137 issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Troncoso. Inventions which operate under this assumption produce great inaccuracies if the surface that is referenced is not, as is assumed, parallel to the bow string. The resultant inaccuracies are multiplied by the degree of the original error produced by the referenced surface.
It should be noted that the majority of the related inventions which exist claim to check either the nock set or the center shot of a bow. There are some however that claim to accomplish both tasks. Examples of devices of this nature are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,627 issued Oct. 29, 1991, to Fenchel, and entitled DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FINE TUNING A COMPOUND ARCHERY BOW, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,576 issued Dec. 4, 1990, to Morey et al., and entitled ARCHERY BOW ALIGNMENT DEVICE AND METHOD, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,229 issued Jun. 24, 1986, to Bell, and entitled BOW TUNING AID. Inventions which, as in the case of the aforementioned devices, depend upon the subjective judgement of the operator to determine alignment or which reference from or to a surface other than the arrow shaft itself, for which the adjustments are made, are apt to be in error.
Previous inventions have not adequately accounted for the movement of the arrow shaft, attached to the bow string, when drawn and held by the individual who will use the bow, and the path which the bow string travels when returning to the original relaxed position. The form of the archer, his hand placement on the bow riser section, body position and point at which the archer anchors the bow string in the fully drawn position, has a direct effect upon the path which the bow string will take in returning to the relaxed position once the arrow is released. These past inventions have only attempted to align the arrow to the bow, rather than aligning the arrow on the bow, specific to the individual who will operate the bow and shoot the arrow.
Therefore, to assure accuracy and to conserve time and effort for the individual tuning a bow, both of these operations, determining placement of the nock set and the arrow rest, should be brought into one process, taking into consideration the form of the archer and utilizing a device which is not dependant upon an imperfect point of reference or subjective judgement, but which references only the arrow shaft upon the arrow rest when attached to the bow string, the device making a determination for adjustment based on the movement and position of the arrow shaft, when the bow string is relaxed and then as the bow string is fully drawn and anchored by the individual.